Ernest was born to Robert and Eliza Dalton on February 3,
1888 at York, in Yorkshire, England. He received his
education at York, and took cabinet making as a trade.

In 1905, at age seventeen, he came to Canada where
he worked for several months for a farmer in Manitoba.
He received a very bad impression of farmers in general
when the farmer refused to pay him his wages. His next
job was as a promoter with a circus. After several months
he had enough money saved to return to England for a
visit in 1907. He repeated this pattern for the next
several years, returning to England in 1909 and again in
191 1. Upon his return to Canada he acquired a homestead
at Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. This area was almost
entirely a Catholic settlement, and through an agreement
with the local priest, he was paid a sum to give up his
claim in favor of someone of that faith.

In 1912 he waited in line when the three Lease Townships
were thrown open for homesteads and filed on the
N.E. 9-1-21-W4th.

On June 1, 1912, Ethel Florence Douthwaite of Scarborough,
England and Florence Binns arrived in Lethbridge where
Ethel Florence Douthwaite married Ernie Dalton, and
Florence Binns married Joe Foggin. (The girls had tickets
on the Titanic, but because of a family illness had to take
a later boat to Canada. The Titanic hit an iceberg on this
maiden voyage and sixteen hundred and thirty-five lives
were lost.) They were married that day, June 1, 1912.
On June 1, 1962, they celebrated their 50th Wedding
Anniversaries at their farm homes, and later on that day
got together to recall old memories.

Ernie had to work out for farmers already established outside
of the new area in order to earn enough money to establish
his own farming operation.

He joined the P.P.C.L.I. in World War I and was shipped
overseas in April, 1916, and was honorably discharged in 1919.
After his discharge he returned to Del Bonita where Florence
had kept the farm operating while he was away. This hardship
was only a prelude for what was to come with the depression
years. But in the meantime the land was broken and many
improvements were made, due mainly to hard work and dogged
determination. More land was purchased from the Coyle family,
T. H. Stagg, and the Crookston family.

Florence was a very hard working person, helping with all the
many things that had to be done, as well as managing a
home and raising a family during the depression years.
The three years alone with their small son during the war
was an especially trying time for her.

Ernest was a very active community worker, involved in school
and local government affairs, sports organizations, and every
other type of community affairs. He served several years as
a Justice of the Peace. He was a main factor in the
centralization of the small district schools into the Del Bonita
Centralized School which was the first centralized school in
the province.

He, along with E. Pingree Tanner (Magrath Mayor and
Businessman) worked for twenty-three years with Chambers
of Commerce from southern Alberta to get the Del Bonita-
Magrath road taken into the provincial highway system and
thereby get it improved to highway standards. Upon Mr.
Tanner's death, Ernest carried on the work, and along with
the Cut Bank, Montana, Chamber of Commerce, of which
he was made an Honorary Life Member, and Magrath Chamber
of Commerce, of which he was also an Honorary Life Member,
his dream of a hard surfaced road, Highway 62 was finally
realized in 1964. He worked with the same groups to get
improved Customs facilities on both sides ol'the border. He
worked hard to get the C. P.R. rail line into Whiskey Gap.

People who knew him will always remember him for his
wonderful smile, his cheerful optimistic outlook on life, and his
leading of singing groups at church gatherings or social functions.
He loved to travel, crossing the Atlantic Ocean eleven times.
One of his trips across the ocean from England to Canada was
as a Stowaway on a cattle boat. After a day and a half at sea,
hunger forced him to reveal his presence. He was given a job
tending the cattle. Ernie and Florence spent many weeks
each year camping in Waterton Park, and British Columbia,
where he hiked and fished wherever there were fish to catch.

Florence and Ernest had three sons; Ernie. They and their father
all farmed together, although each owned his own farm. They
also ran a commercial herd of Hereford cattle of which Ernest
was rightfully very proud.

Ernest was still active in family and community affairs, and still
fishing up until his death on November 10, 1968.

Florence passed away on December 5, 1974.

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